B-68

The Dobbin Cottage

Architectural Survey File

This is the architectural survey file for this MIHP record. The survey file is organized reverse-

chronological (that is, with the latest material on top). It contains all MIHP inventory forms, National

Register nomination forms, determinations of eligibility (DOE) forms, and accompanying documentation

such as photographs and maps.

Users should be aware that additional undigitized material about this property may be found in on-site

architectural reports, copies of HABS/HAER or other documentation, drawings, and the “vertical files” at

the MHT Library in Crownsville. The vertical files may include newspaper clippings, field notes, draft

versions of forms and architectural reports, photographs, maps, and drawings. Researchers who need a

thorough understanding of this property should plan to visit the MHT Library as part of their research

project; look at the MHT web site (mht.maryland.gov) for details about how to make an appointment.

All material is property of the Maryland Historical Trust.

Last Updated: 03-10-2011

N,

z 0

..... u .::J

0:::

..... VI

z

w w

R. FIELD SHEET OOl.P fl 4-f- '(()Of:/"~~ ,6 f ~ I Form 10-300 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INm~ C> _ _, ,,.,..A ll'"E:

(Dec. 1968} NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

COUNTY:

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY

ENTRY NUMBER I D ATE

(Type all entries - complete applicable sections) I ft}'=i~J-Kt~JW:+fr~ffM,t/f\ .•. '> <'.:;. :r\ ·.• ·•·· ':".)\. ·•,:.:: · ..... -· ! .'•

'· . · .. COMMON:

232 West Lan vale st. AN O / OR HISTORIC:

The Dobbin Cottage 1 ~: :t,.etATtON .. · ..

s ·TREET AN C' NUMBER:

232 \\est Lan vale st. CITY OR TOWN:

Baltimore S T A TE I CODE jc o UNTV 1 I CODE

Maryland I I I t~. . CLASSIFICAT·ION

CAT EGORY OWNERSHIP STATUS

ACCESSIBLE (Check One) TO THE PUB LIC

Distr ict D Bui lding ~ Pub.lie -0 Pu b li c Acquisition: Occupied ClQ Ye s:

Site D Structure D Private ~ In Proces s D Unoccupied D Restricted D Both D Being Cons idered 0 Preservation work Unrestricted D Ob ject D in progre ss 0 l)(l No:

PRESENT USE (Ch ec k One or M or e as Appropriate)

Agricu lturo I D Government 0 Park D Transportation D Comments 0 Commercial 0 Industrial D Private Reside nce ~ Other (Spec ify) 0 Educational D Military 0 Relj;gious D Entertainment 0 Museum 0 Scientific D

t4.; OWNER :bF PROPERTY OWNERS NAME:

Mr. and Mrs. Frank R. Shivers~ Jr. STREET AN O NUMB ER:

1404 Bolton street C I T Y OR TOWN; IS T A T~~. I CODE

Baltimore I 1¥/: ifo~Atfo.N · o~ LEGAL DESCRIPTION

COUR THOUS E, R EGISTRY OF DEEDS. ETC: Liber: MLP 7675; Folio: 60 Land Record Off ice of the Suoerior Court of Baltimore Ci+.v

STREE T ANO NUMBER:

Roan 610. Baltimore City Court House Cl TY OR TO WN : I STA T E I COD E

Baltimore Md. I APPROX IMA TE A CRE AG E QI= NOMINATEO P ROPERTY ; • 1 acre

rli: ... R'£1?.RESENJAtidN IN EXIST ING SURVEYS TI T J!> OF ~RVEYtt- • \ ~ 's'tc < ,'<:.e<.l ?1eset .,ro..T. or. J)1 :>-tr ,'C.1 'S.u rve'-\

0 ~· " , l f' • A TT.! -L __ .. - _, - . . ~ ~

·""~ "'n - - . ... ..~-

D ATE OF SURVEY: 1%7 Federol n State D County D Local [j: DEPOSITORY FOR SURV EY R E CO R DS:

C:nmmi .. "Ii"'"" t'ot" u.c .w.,..-c,....,1 f>nr'I A-.h.C ,1 0....... . ,.._

STREE T ANO NUMBER:

1.ro Ci+ . .,,. 'l-fa11 CITY OR TOWN : I STA T E: I COD E ,___

'Rn1"". Mr!_ I

"' .. )> .. rn

(l

0 c z .. -<

rn z ..

Tl ;I) 0

"' ::0 z z c "O ~

"' [JJ c rn ;I) "' ...._ m

0 0 z )> r .. -< "'

N. R. FIF.:LD SHEET :~i](;Rg,,¢.$.J.f!,1'.J()W+•·•

(Check One) CONDI TION

Excellent 0 Good 00 Fai r 0 Deteriorated 0 Ruins 0 Unexposed 0 (Check One)

Altered 0 Unaltered r!Y (Check One)

INTEGRITY Moved 0 Original Site EB

DESCRIBE THE PRESENT A NO ORIG IN A L ( If known) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

A<9 surviving example ot the small "Gothic" house within the city,

this house has three gables, two verandas, and a ·bay window, features

that "ma.de possible the fuller enjo~nt of the circumambient scene.n (l)

Although its original property once was at least twice as large as the

present lot, the house still stands detached in its garden. Noteworthy

f eatures of this cottage are the picket fence alcing the sidewalks, the

brick walks that hug the house, and the fantasy of the three sets of

terracotta chimney pots. Inside and out, the house is little changed, m m

because modernizing has been done superficially. The house gives the

feeling of being a silllple country house. Inside are four square roans z

on the first two floors, two on each side ot a broad center ba1l in

wh:ich the stair curves up to the third floor where there are two roan.a.

A back wing includes kitchen and powder roan on the first floor and two

baths on the second floor. The woodwork in the two parlors is late

Greek Revival in style; the windows are made to look as though t.hey

were casements, but. in fact are not •

~(l.) )~

..

Henry-Russell lli.tchcock, Architecture : Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries , p. 255.

-t :::0

c:

n -t

0

:z

V\

% /

0

f ... I u I

' :::::>

et::

... V\

z

w w V\

N. R. FIELD SHEET . ; .

PERIOD (Check One or More as Appropriate)

Pre·Columbion 0 16th Century 0 15th Century 0 17th Century 0

SPECIFIC DATE(S) (It Applicabl e andKnown)

AR E AS OF SIGNIFICANCE (Check One or More as Appropriate)

Abor iginol Education D Prehistoric 0 Engineering D Histor;c 0 Industry 0

Agriculture 0 Invention 0 Art !'.& Londscope

Commerce 0 Architecture 0 Communications 0 Literature 0 Conservat ion 0 Military 0

' Music 0

18th Century 0 19th Century 0

Politi col 0 Religion/ Phi-

Josophy 0 Science D Sculpture 0 Socio l/ Humon-

itorion 0 Theater 0 Transportation 0

STATEMENT OF S I GNIFI CANCE ( Inc lude Personages, Dates, Events, Etc .)

·< .> .. -::

20th Century [ii

Urbon Planning 0 Other (Specify) 0

This cottage orne'e is significant as probably the oldest residence

in the district, having been built before 18510 1 ~ts front

pDl"Ches once faced the open slope southward towards George 01"'und;r1 s

country seat, 11Bolton," and the city beyond. Across Bolton Street

in another detached house lived the Reverend Henry Van Dyke Johns

(in whose memory Memorial Church was named). Tradition has it that

232 w. Lanvale Street was built by the Reverend Mr. Johns far his

-::. ···:··:-·-

daughter. The first owners were Mr. and Mrs. John Robins , of

Burlington, N.J., who purchased property fran John Gibson 1n 1850 and

sold it to Mrs. Wi l1jam w. Taylor 1n 1863. The house came into the

possession of the Dobbin family through the will of Mrs. Elizabeth B.

Wethered, who bought it in 1878, and, it remained in their hands until

purchased by Mrs. Nancy Howard Venable in 19490

Occupants include distinguished academicians. Most recent was

William Force Stead, who taught at Catholic University, and whose p oems

appear in the Ox.ford Anthology of M:xlern Ver~ o For more than tlrlrty

years the dean of the University of Maryland I.aw School, Roger Howell,

lived there with his family, including Panet Howell Clark who was

Headmistress of Bryn Mawr School, 1933-1935, and then a dean at the

N. R. FIELD SHEET

;:;9, WAJOR $lBLfOGRAPHICAL REFER~NCES : •· ... :' '. ::;:

...

Hitchcock, Henry-Russell, "The Detached House in England and America 11, _

Architecture: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Baltimore, 1958. f )'~.j

Janvier, Meredith, Ba1timore in the Eighties and Nineties1 Roebuck & Son, Balt:imore, 1933.

10. GEOGRAPHICAL DATA -LA TITUDE ANO LON(;ITUDE COORDINAT ES 0

.. l..ATITUOE AND LONG ITUDE COORDINAT E S

DEFINING A RECTANGLE LOCATING T HE PROPERTY DEFINING TH E CENTER PO IN T OF A PROPERTY

R OF LESS TH~N c;>N~ ACRE

CORNER LATITUDE LONGITUDE LAT ITUDE LONGI TUDE

Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds

NW 0 . . 0 . . 0 . . 0 . . Ne 0 . . 0 . SE 0 . . 0 . . SW Q . . 0 .

LIST ALL STATES AN D COUNTIES FOR PROPERT I ES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY SOUN DARI ES

STATE: CODE COUNTY CO~E

S T A TE: CODE COUNTY : CODE

STATE: CODE COUNTY: CODE

STATE: COD E COUNTY: CODE

. ..... ~t1;.foRM PtffPARe:o av

···:" .. .···: .····-: •:;·. 'i;+ :j" ,:::y ... ,., f:•.•,:::t._:':\; .. :·•. ') ' .. ·~-: .'.;'.•:-}: ;:· :;.·· .;·;.:v:·

--·· ·' .•· ···-;:;.:-~

NAM E ANO T l TL E:

ORGAN I ZA Tl ON I OATE . . STREET ANO NUMBER:

CI T Y OR TOWN: STATE CODE

12. STATE LIAISON OF~ICj:R · CE:Rfffit:AYl¢li({ .,,, .• ·· 'NAtf6:NA.L ~EGtM'E.R VER-fFJbA:t:10N . . ... -·

As the des ignated St ate Liaison Qfficer for the Na-

tional H istoric Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law I he rebv certify that this p roperty is inc luded in the

89-665). I hereby nominate this property for inclusion National Register.

in the National Register and certify that it has been

evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set

forth by the Nationa l Park Service. The recommended Chief, Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation

level of significa nee of this nomination is:

National 0 State 0 L ocal 0

Date

Name ATTEST:

Title

Keeper of The National R egister

Date Date

I

-

m

m

z

0

z

8-68 The Dobbin Cottage 232 West Lanvale Street Block 0401 Lot 001 Baltimore City Baltimore East Quad.

:::z 3 2 LAJ-e 5+ L;,i 'Yl l, c: Co s r. D<-., I Pn ·rn u Pr~ rr v;v-f;·~ D1 sfucr

~ ~.s~~